Unequal

by B. E. Sanderson

  “What phrase?”

  “All men are created equal.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  Rue stared at Justin, trying to comprehend a world where people had dreamed up such a phrase as ‘all men are created Equal’. It was obvious. All men were Equal. The DOE saw to it. It had been drummed into her since the day she was old enough to understand language, and even then, she hated it.

  She considered the tiny baby she had wanted to save. That gorgeous child hadn’t been born Equal. He was special. By then, though, he had been placed in some state home. By this time, he was on his way to becoming as Equal as everyone else.

  When she was young, she had dreamed of being Equal. She yearned for it the way some children yearn for toys or sweets. But being the same as everyone else hadn’t been for her. She was different and she always had been. While the other children could be exactly who they were in the open without fear, because they were so very Equal, she’d had to hide herself. The other children didn’t worry about the DOE showing up on their doorsteps, ready to make them disappear.

  As she grew older, she realized how different her life would’ve been if she had been Equal. She never would’ve felt the thrill of saving a life. She wouldn’t have ever felt the satisfaction of easing one person’s suffering.

  “What a cruel thing to think,” she said.

  “They never intended it to be. It wasn’t meant to be a way to force everyone to be the same. It was a belief each person should be allowed to be whatever he could make of himself without interference.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “They believed everyone is equal at the moment of being born. After that, they are free to be as Unequal as they were—for good or for bad. Don’t you see? No one was forced to be Equal.”

  Such a world was inconceivable. “And it’s the world you want to bring us back to?”

  “I want people to be able to be who they are without anyone telling them who they’re supposed to be.” He grasped her hand tightly, as though letting go would be detrimental. “All I want for any of us is to be allowed to be Unequal or not, as we choose. Can’t you see how it makes sense?”

  Rue nodded, but his words were percolating in her head. She simply couldn’t wrap her head around it. “And you’re under the impression by fighting the DOE you can somehow bring this about? If people as a whole wanted the agency, what makes you presume fighting it at this point would change anything? You smash the DOE and the crowd makes a new one. Simple as that.”

  Justin’s forehead creased and his eyes darkened. “It really is simple. The DOE thought they had it all figured out, but they forgot something. The populace they’ve created couldn’t rebuild a sandcastle without someone telling them what to do and how to do it. Remove the DOE and the world can begin again.”

  To make the same problems again. She didn’t go to the trouble of voicing her thoughts. Justin’s eyes were back to their original glazed zeal. No amount of argument would change his beliefs. Especially since she wasn’t so sure his beliefs were entirely wrong.

  “I still don’t see the need for people to die for any of this.” She let her hand fall away from him. She stared at the statue again. Max was trying to tell her something while they were alone—something Justin hadn’t quite grasped. She wasn’t sure she grasped it yet herself. “Why can’t we escape to somewhere the DOE can’t find us?” she asked.

  “Because we have no idea if such a place exists. What if the DOE is everywhere? What if their ideas have soaked into every part of the world? Where would we go then?”

  She didn’t have an answer. Then again, having no answer was better than having a brutal one.

  “We have to fight them, Rue. We have to take back this city if we want to live.”

  All at once she understood he wasn’t talking about a simple, abstract theory. He had plans, and his plans were closer to reality than she feared. “When?”

  A brief look of confusion washed over him before he nodded. “When can you expect the clinic to be full of casualties? Is that what you’re asking?”

  “Something along those lines.”

  “It’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “I guessed as much.” She gazed up at the stone Max. “So start talking already. You’re planning a war. When does it start?”

  “Within the next few days. I have a few key pieces I need in place first.”

  “What pieces?” she asked, afraid she already had the answer.

  “You.” His statement confirmed her fears. “And the hospital.”

  “You mean the clinic? It’s as ready as it’s going to get.”

  “No, I mean the hospital. After the battle, we can’t bring our wounded back here. They would lead the enemy right to our homes.”

  Our enemy. There’s a phrase I never dreamed I’d hear.

  “Fine then, what do you mean by hospital?” She caught a glimmer in his eyes. “You can’t mean my hospital… The hospital I worked at… You’re planning on overthrowing a government hospital?”

  “No, not there. I have a location where we can run a medical facility without too much fear we’ll be caught. From the outside, it appears to be a warehouse. Something to do with holograms or holographs. Bent light and video projections... However they do those sorts of things.” He shook himself. “I have people who handled the technical aspects. It’s the inside that really matters anyway, right? Inside, it mirrors what you’re already used to.”

  No wonder Justin left me alone for the past few weeks. He’s been setting this up. Damn him.

  “Fine. What do you need from me?”

  “Some kind of confirmation you’re on board, Rue.”

  Part of her was tempted to see if he would stop this madness on her refusal. The more rational part understood his earlier meaning. If she left, he would proceed without her. And without her skills, they’d have additional casualties. She couldn’t allow people to die.

  “Are you going to help us?” She opened her mouth, but he stopped her. “Help us without constantly feeling you were forced into this? I need you to agree without coercion. Force is the DOE’s trick, not mine.”

  She swallowed hard and masked her face so he couldn’t see what she was thinking. “I agree.” And her heart cried against the decision.

  Justin nodded his head. “Then we have work to do.”

  “You mentioned something about a hospital for the wounded?” If he was in the process of building a hospital, she didn’t see the purpose of a clinic, but she wasn’t willing to follow those thoughts. She didn’t need to hear he built her a clinic to keep her occupied while he made his plans. She certainly wouldn’t be able to bear discovering the whole special surprise had been another machination in his big scheme.

  He held out his hand. “If you’re ready to take a little trip, I’ll take you there.” Once she put her hand into his, he pulled her close to him. “I want you to be happy, Rue. It’s important.”

  “I’ll be happy after all this is over.”

  “I guess it’s the best I can ask for. That and seeing you smile at least once since you came to us. When I first saw you in the hospital basement, I would’ve bet your face wasn’t capable of the act.”

  “There has to be something to smile about.” As much as she was unwilling to admit it, her time with the Unequals had showed her things worth smiling over. And she was afraid those things making her happy now would destroy her later.

  Pushing the unwanted prediction out of her head, she nodded at Justin. “If we’re going to go, we’d better get going. I can’t be away too long with Penny’s baby due any time.” The girl wasn’t really due for a couple weeks, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend too much time out in the world. Or in Justin’s company.

  Rue followed him out of the garden, and he led her down the stairs to the foyer. Outside, a small transport waited. “Pulling out all the stops for this trip?” No one but the most important Citizens had personal transports. And then she remembered who the outside world assumed Just
in was. “Citizen Executioner Jenner, I presume?”

  The hated name dripped off her tongue like acid, but the caustic tone didn’t touch him. He merely tipped an illusory hat and escorted her outside. Once he tucked her into the passenger seat, he settled himself into the driver’s area. The console was strewn with lights and meters in such a haphazard array Rue wondered how anyone ever learned to use a transport. Justin seemed right at home as he pushed a button and the machine hummed to life.

  “I’ve never been in one of these.” She didn’t remember being in a transport, but Justin couldn’t have moved her across town any other way. Well, except for…

  She kept it to herself. Bringing up the day she was captured wouldn’t have been wise. In the weeks since she came to the Unequals’ annex, they had both avoided mentioning their initial meeting. For her part, she didn’t want to bruise their uneasy peace. She could only guess at Justin’s reasoning. Perhaps he didn’t want to remind her she once had every reason not to trust him.

  “If you’re new to these, make sure you keep your eyes focused either straight in front or on an object inside the vehicle. The first ride can be disorienting.”

  “Motion sickness,” she said. “I’ve read about it, but I’ve never seen a case.”

  “Probably because people who ride in these have generally been in them their whole life. If they get this motion sickness thing, they’re probably too ashamed to admit it.”

  “Or too afraid of being labeled Unequal by their peers.”

  He gave a half-nod. As he concentrated on navigating the maze of controls and then on keeping the transport moving forward, Rue dropped into her own thoughts. No sense distracting him while they were speeding along at who-knew-how-fast.

  After a few minutes, though, Justin glanced at her sideways. “It’s okay to relax. I know what I’m doing. I’ve been driving one of these for years.”

  She shook her head. “And I’ve seen what happens to transport drivers who lose their focus. In fact, there was a horrible mass transport accident the day I… The day you…”

  So much for not bringing it up.

  “The day I showed up in your basement lair? It would explain why you were dead on your feet.”

  Rue caught something in his tone. “You knew. You knew about the accident and came on purpose. You were trying to catch me at my worst.”

  He reached out to pat her leg, but she scooted closer to the door. “I did what I had to do. You’ve known me long enough my actions then or now shouldn’t surprise you. I do what has to be done. Always.”

  Something lodged in her chest. He was right. She had learned enough about Justin to not be surprised. Even so, she wanted to forget what he was. She needed to stop trying to see past his dogged determination to the man she wanted him to be. He was what he was.

  Neither of them spoke again as they drove. Rue tried to keep her focus and her lunch intact, but her curiosity got the better of her more than once. As they drove through the city, her gaze was drawn to tall buildings she had never seen before. Farther away from the housing complex, her eyes caught sight of what had to be a park. Not too long after, she recognized the little stream she once daydreamed by.

  “Where are we?”

  “The west side of the city.”

  Rue nearly choked. He’d spoken the words as though he had no clue where he’d brought her. Except, he had a file on her thick enough to choke a horse, so it wasn’t possible. “The west side? Where I was raised?”

  “Of course.” Justin chuckled. “I’m well aware of where you grew up, Rue. How could I not be? Your home was also Hank Winston’s last residence before he joined the DOE.”

  “You mean before Howard Winston was disappeared.” Say whatever he wanted, she couldn’t bring herself to believe her kind and loving uncle was the head of the Department of Equalization. The two ideas clashed in her mind hard enough to give her a headache.

  “I’m sorry, Rue,” he said. “I never meant to bring him up again.”

  “Unless you have some information I don’t, we can’t be sure he joined the DOE willingly.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t want to discuss this now. We’re almost to the warehouse and I want you to experience it as we drive up. I need an objective opinion about how it looks.”

  She couldn’t imagine why. As far as Rue was concerned, one hospital would probably look like the next. As long as it had the facilities to treat patients, its appearance didn’t mean a damn thing.

  At least she thought so, until Justin parked the transport outside the most decrepit structure she’d ever laid eyes on. She hadn’t been aware such buildings were allowed to exist. “Doesn’t the government tear down building with this much disrepair? Urban blight or something?”

  “They gave up on this side of town shortly after you were assigned. People live closer in to the city center, and most of the outlying structures are too far gone to save. And the city doesn’t have the funds to destroy them anymore. Here they sit, and here they’ll stay until nature knocks them down.” He gazed at the derelict as if it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “Or until man reclaims them as we’ve done.”

  “Is it sanitary inside?” As she watched, she swore she saw a brick fall from the façade. “For that matter, is it safe?”

  He winked at her and for a moment, he was the playful friend instead of the zealous leader. “It’s safer than you could ever imagine. It’ll stand for another hundred years. By creating the illusion it’s a wasteland, we’ve fooled the DOE. They will never guess we’re inside.”

  “Until someone sees a bunch of injured people being dragged into a supposedly empty building.”

  His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth. “You know I’m smarter than that, Rue. No one’s going to see anything.”

  She couldn’t imagine how it could be possible but, from the set of his jaw, she understood she wouldn’t receive any answers from him yet. “Do we leave the transport or have you found a magic way to get inside?”

  Starting the transport again was his answer. He pointed it straight toward the brick wall at the back of the building and accelerated. Rue’s heart leapt into her throat as they approached, waiting for him to slow the mass of metal. Justin merely grinned. As they got within a few meters, he slowed. But his plans didn’t seem to include stopping.

  “Justin!” Her shriek coincided with an up close glimpse of cold and uninviting bricks.

  Bricks the car passed through so quickly she barely noticed the shimmer of what he’d referred to as a hologram. Or holograph. Or whatever.

  Her pulse was thrumming in her head so loud she could barely hear anything else. Her fingers ached where they’d dug into the pliable material of the transport’s dashboard. She leveled her gaze away from where it had focused on the floor. Ahead of them was a dim concrete cave. As she watched, the transport moved down a slight incline toward a wide-open space.

  “It used to be a parking ramp, during the times everyone had vehicles of their own.” He lifted one hand as though he was giving her a tour. “See the faint lines on the concrete? Each was for something called a car.”

  She wanted to punch him for being so blasé. But if he hadn’t already noticed how terrified she’d been, she wasn’t going to educate him. “I’ve read about cars and parking spaces and garages. Tell me something I don’t know. What did this place used to be?”

  “Can’t you figure it out?” The question came out as though he was disappointed he had to ask at all.

  “It was a hospital?”

  He nodded. “Built a couple hundred years ago at least, judging by the materials they used. Cris had a devil of a time recreating the outside for the computers to project, but he didn’t do too bad a job, did he?”

  She stared at him. “I can see what you meant about getting an objective opinion. You wanted to see if I could tell it wasn’t real.” She should’ve guessed. Even when he was playing at being a companion, he had ulterior motives.

  “An
d what’s the verdict?”

  “From what I could see, the building is a heap of trash. Was it the look Crispin was going for?”

  “He was going for empty and unused, but ‘heap of trash’ will work for him. As long as you didn’t think the building was in use for anything, we’re good. Most of the DOE isn’t half as smart as you are.”

  She wasn’t sure if implying she was twice as smart as an agent was a compliment or not. It was almost like telling someone they were twice as lovely as a bedpan. She was on the verge of kidding him about it when he pulled the transport to a stop beside a pair of doors.

  “We’re here?”

  “The first stop on the tour.” He pushed a button and both their doors opened. With one deft movement, he was out and, once he helped her to her feet, they headed toward the entrance. The silence of the parking area was stifling. Even the sound of the wind couldn’t reach this far under the building. In a way, it made her feel immensely frightened and yet safe.

  “At least here, no bombs will be killing anyone.”

  “Not unless we plant them ourselves.” His words shook her and she stopped hard. “I was kidding. But if you might have to leave in a hurry, it’s wise to stop people from following you. Right?”

  Leave it to Justin to think of something so terrible. But the idea of the structure collapsing around her made her quicken her steps. Justin held the door for her as she scurried inside. To her left stood a set of stairs and to the right lay a bank of elevators. She made for the stairs.

  Justin’s hand on her waist stopped her before she went up more than two or three steps. “You took the stairs as a janitor. Here, you’re the doctor.” Almost on cue, the elevator doors opened. “After you.”

  At her own hospital, she never worried about using the elevators. As long as she stuck to the night shift, they were as safe for her as anything else. This wasn’t her own hospital, though. She never had to worry about it collapsing on her. “You’re sure it’s safe?”

  “As a mother’s arms.”